Flexible Spectrum Business Models for the Mobile Industry

The concept of Flexible Spectrum is a way to overcome some of the current inefficiencies and high entry barriers plaguing the mobile industry. Increasingly, a Cognitive Pilot Channel (CPC) is regarded as the central enabler for Flexible Spectrum. This paper outlines the CPC concept from a business point of view and clarifies its current status in the standardization and regulation fields. Based on several potential CPC implementations, it identifies a number of Flexible Spectrum business configurations and revenue sharing models. It also performs an initial evaluation of these models using a business model scorecard approach.